Car-coupling



0. HALPIN.

GAR GIOUPLING,

Pat ted Feb. '23, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

CORNELIUS HALPIN, OF NORTH TARRYTOIVN, NE\V YORK.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,806, dated February 23, 1886.

Application filed July 3, 1885. Serial No. T701119. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CORNELIUS HALPIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the village of North Tarrytown, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gar-Gouplings, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for automatically coupling cars together, the object being to overcome difficulties in construction and operation met with in using devices as heretofore made for this purose. p Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a device embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is a crosssection on theline 00. Fig. et is alongitudinal section of a modified form of the device. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the link shown in Fig. 4.

In the drawings, A represents a draw-head, which in many respects as'to its construction, and as concerns the manner of attaching it to the car, may be of any well-known form. It has an interior chamber, A, preferably widening somewhat at the mouth. At the central part of the interior chamber the top wall slopes downward and backward, it terminating in a narrow or shallow part (indicated at e) at the inner end. The inner part of the draw-head is indicated by B, there being a lower wall, 0 D, an interior forwardly-projecting part, E, and a top part, F-G. Between the parts 0 and D of the bottom there is formed an aperture, 0, the forward wall, f, of which is vertical, and the rear wall, f of which is preferably sloping, substantially as shown in Fig. 1. In the upper part, F G, there is formed an aperture, 6', which communicates with the interior chamber by means of a slot, 6 through the part E.

In the front part of the draw-head there are apertures f g, to receive an ordinary pin, H, (shown in dotted lines,) adapted to engage with a common link, L.

My improved automatic coupler is constructed and arranged as follows: The lower portion is indicated by I and the upper by 1, these being preferably cast in one piece. The upper part, I, may be of the same width as the lower, 1, or it may be somewhat wider. It

is seated in the recess or aperture formed in the upper part, G F, of the draw-head, it being of such dimensions, preferably, as that it shall have its upper surface flush with that of the draw-head. At 1' there is a pivot, which connects it with the draw-head, and the rear part, 1, thereof rests upon the part E of the draw-head. The lower portion, I, is of such width as to be adapted to pass downwardly through the slot above referred to formed in the edge being great enough to have the lowermost point, i", bear against the wall f. at the front of aperture 6, said portion i resting in this aperture when the coupler is in place. The rear edge, j, is rounded or curved substantially as shown, the curve being described from the pivot at t, or approximating an are described therefrom.

Heretofore, when couplers have been employed of the same general class as that herein shown, the rear edges have been such that great difficulty is experienced in uncoupling, the shape being of such nature that when the coupler was swung upward it tended to en engage with the link; and hence when the link was tautly stretched by the two cars it was difficult, and sometimes impossible, to withdraw the coupler from the link.

By constructing and arranging the parts as I have shown the coupler can at any time be easily drawn up, the edge being of such na ture as to prevent any resistance being experienced from the link; but at the same time it is imposible for the link to become accidentally detached, as it is held firmly in the angle formed by the rear edge, 7', of the coupler and the bottom wall of the interior chan1- her, A e.

At M there is an eye, near the rear end of the upper part I, adapted to receive the cord, chain, or equivalent for the purpose of easily drawing the device out of its seat, and with it may be combined any of the means well known for assisting the operator in uncoupling when he may be at such distance that he is not able readily to reach the device by hand. The chamber in the interior has sloping top walls, 6 e, at the sides of the passage for the coupler I 1, these sloping walls acting to properly guide the link into the narrow part e, and assisting in preventing the coupler I I from being thrown too far up from its seat.

In Fig.4: I have shown a modification, in which the rear edge is recessed, as shown at j", in order to have the coupler adapted fora purpose to be set forth. In this construction the link L is formed with an opening, 1, substantially similar to that of the ordinary coupling-links, it being terminated at the rear or inner end by a cross-bar, Z, back of which there is a supplemental opening at Z bounded by the'metal at the rear end, Z of the link.

N represents a pin or bolt, which is passed up through the bottom part, G, of the drawhead, and through the aperture Z at the rear end of the link, and into the part E of the body of the draw-head, the aperture in this part E being preferably tapped with a thread in order that the pin or bolt may be tightly secured in position. This pin or bolt N is adapted to hold the link L permanently in connection with the draw-head; but the other parts are so related and constructed that the bolt shall be relieved of all strain, the latter being taken entirely by the coupler, with the rear edge of which engages the aforesaid cross bar Z. By having the rear edge of the coupler recessed, as above said, at j", the inner end of the link can be allowed to fit properly in the interior chamber, and can be constructed with the inwardly-projecting part, which has the aforesaid aperture P.

I do not claim, broadly, to be the first to use a swinging coupler having a curved rear edge, as I am aware of the fact that this feature has been used in devices of various styles; but I believe myself to be the first to have constructed a device with all of the advantageous features herein shown and described, with its parts and those of the draw-head constructed and arranged relatively to each other substantially as set forth.

What I claim is- 1. The combination of the swinging coupler I I, pivoted at or near the front upper corner, having the link-engaging portion of its rear edge continuously concentric with the pivot, and having directly back of the pivot the rear prolongation, z, and the draw-head having a recess below its upper surface to re ceive said prolongation, the aperture 6 in front of said recess, the slot 6, the aperture 0, extending entirely through the bottom, and the interior chamber A 6, with the flat or horizontal bottom surface and its upper wall inclining downward and inward, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the swinging coupler pivoted at its front upper corner with the rear prolongation at z directly back of the pivot, and having the link-engaging portion of its rear edge formed on an unbroken arc'from the axis with a radius shorter than the said prolongation, and the draw-head having a recess below its upper surface for-the said prolongation 1', the aperture 6 in front of said recess, the slot 6 the aperture 0 through the bottom, the aperture f in front of said aperture 0, having the wall D between the apertures f and c, and the aperture 9 in front of the pivot and vertically over the aperture f, whereby the swinging coupler can be supplemented by a sliding pin, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the draw-head, of the coupler I I, seated in a vertical recess in the draw-head and adapted to rest vertically thereon, the coupler being constructed with a recess, 3' in the rear edge, and the parts of the edge adjacent to the recess being curved, a coupling-link having a cross-bar, Z, which bears against the coupler I I, and having a second cross-bar adapted to engage permanently with the draw-head, substantially as set forth. 7 r

4:. The combination, with the draw-head having the vertically-swinging coupler I I, provided with the curved rear edge, a stop or fastener, N, rigidly secured to the draw-head, and a link formed with two or more apertures, through one of which passes the stop or. fast ener N, and through another of which passes the aforesaid swinging coupler I I, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CORNELIUS HALPIN.

\Vitnesses:

JNo. F. .HOOTOR, THOMAS F. OMABA. 

